Skip to main content
Fig. 1 | BMC Biology

Fig. 1

From: A polyketide synthase from Verticillium dahliae modulates melanin biosynthesis and hyphal growth to promote virulence

Fig. 1

Verticillium dahliae VdPKS9 encodes a quinone oxidoreductase homolog critical for pathogenicity. A Conserved domain structures of 30 predicted VdPKSs in V. dahliae. The conserved domains were predicted by multiple pipelines of SMART, InterPro, and Pfam and labeled in different colors. The PKSs were divided into three sub-families by the different characteristics of conserved domains, including typical fungal PKSs, oxidoreductases, and others. AA, amino acids. B Pathogenicity assay to investigate the role of the PKSs member VdPKS9 in virulence of V. dahliae. Cotton plants were mock-inoculated (Mock) or inoculated with wild-type strain AT13 (WT), two VdPKS9 deletion strains (ΔVdPKS9), and two corresponding ectopic transformants (ECΔVdPKS9), and Verticillium wilt symptoms (top) and vascular discoloration were photographed at 21 days post inoculation (dpi). C Quantification of the fungal biomass in cotton shoots by quantitative PCR following inoculation of the indicated strains. Shoot samples were collected from the stem base of plants at 21 dpi. The V. dahliae elongation factor 1-α (EF-1α) was used as the target of DNA amplification to quantify fungal colonization, and the cotton 18S gene served as an endogenous plant control. Error bars represent standard errors of the mean. ***Significant at P < 0.001 (one-way ANOVA). D The disease rating associated with each of the different strains was classified as Grade 0 (0–25% leaves wilting), Grade 1 (25–50% leaves wilting), Grade 2 (50–75% leaves wilting), and Grade 3 (75–100% leaves wilting). The ratings were conducted with 20 cotton seedlings at 21 dpi with each of the respective V. dahliae strains. The result was analyzed with three replicates of cotton pathogenicity tests. E Pathogenicity assay of wild-type strain AT13 (WT), two VdPKS9 deletion strains (ΔVdPKS9), and two corresponding ectopic transformants (ECΔVdPKS9) on tobacco plants. Verticillium wilt symptoms were photographed at 14 dpi. F Quantification the fungal biomass in tobacco shoots by quantitative PCR. Shoot samples were collected from the stem base of plants at 14 dpi. The tobacco EF gene served as an endogenous plant control. Error bars represent standard errors. ***P < 0.001 (one-way ANOVA). Pathogenicity was analyzed with three replicates of 20 cotton and 6 tobacco plants, and the fungal biomass was calculated by three independent biological replicates. Error bars represent SD (standard deviations) of 3 independent repeated measurements, and asterisks indicate a significant difference

Back to article page